Spain in Irish Literature 1789-1850
An Approach to a Minor Representation [1]

By Asier
Altuna-García de Salazar

I

Introduction

This brief
approach aims at analysing and extracting some general
guidelines on the much-neglected discourse which arose from
the representation of Spain and Spanish references in Irish
literature between 1789 and 1850. It focuses on the ways in
which a number of canonical and non-canonical Irish and
Anglo-Irish writers use Spain, her history, traditions and
culture to construct the contemporary Irish discourse. The
history of Spain, Spanish tradition and literature were topics
much referred to by a number of Irish writers at the turn of
the eighteenth century. These authors and their discourse
deserve a new approach; for, though they have been the focus
of some research, many of these poets, novelists and
playwrights have been considered minor in importance by
traditional literary criticism on the grounds of their lack of
aesthetic quality and politically partisan bias, among many
other issues. Our aim is to propose some guidelines for
further study.

As for the selection of the
chronological period 1789-1850, many factors have been taken
into account. Indeed, on the one hand, Spain between 1789 and
1850 provided Irish authors with instances of national
turmoil, which were open to interpretation and representation.
After the French Revolution, Spain declared war against
France, which resulted in the passing of power to Napoleon,
who, in turn, gave the Spanish Crown to his nephew, Joseph
Bonaparte. The French invasion of Spain inspired patriotic and
independent movements in England and Ireland. The figure of
the Anglo-Irish Duke of Wellington assisted in the resolution
of the Peninsular War, restoring Ferdinand VII to the Spanish
throne.

A number of internal conflicts in
Spain after this period, such as the Carlist wars, found ample
resonance in Ireland. On the other hand, a number of
historical events in Ireland conditioned much of the writing
of the period. The Union with Great Britain (1801), Catholic
Emancipation (1829) and the Great Famine (1845-1849) found
extensive expression in the Anglo-Irish literature of the
period. The final year of 1850 has been chosen not only
because it was the year of publication of Edward Maturin's
significant Lyrics of Spain and Erin, but also because
much of the writing after this date was stigmatised by the
representation of the Irish Famine. After this, the late Irish
Romantic Period was conditioned by preoccupations that
prepared the way for a new resurgence of Irish literature in
the English language.

Through
Spain as the connecting 'anecdote', which within the new
historicist critical context is a move 'outside of canonical
works', an 'effect of surprise' which pulls away or swamps
'the explication of the work of art', (Gallagher & Greenblatt
2000: 36), we propose that it is possible to conceive a way of
constructing a cultural dissection in which to explain this
recourse to Spain between 1789-1850 in Ireland. Our main
concern is to identify the importance of the anecdote, the
event, that is Spain and Spanish references, in a twofold way.
Firstly, as an event per se; and secondly, as an event
that is literally significant within the period under study in
this brief introductory approach.

Most important works and authors: a brief list

So, after
fixing the period of our analysis, we propose a list of the
major writings which present references to Spain in general.
[2] Some absences are telling. Among them any future
researcher should not overlook the enormous bulk of data
contained in the myriad of pamphlets, broadsheets and
periodical material which constantly referred to Spain and her
plight. Nevertheless, and bearing the latter issue in mind, we
include below an alphabetical list of some minor and major
authors who produced writings in which the references to
Spain are reflected on Anglo-Irish and Irish issues. Our
intention is not to delve into all these works in detail,
[3]
but due to the unknown character of these authors' productions
we decided to include a few comments on their works.

Lady
Sophia Raymond Burrell produced two works with Spanish theme:
a poem, 'Epistle from Elvira (a Spanish Lady) to her Lover (a
native of Portugal)' (1793) and her play Theodora; or, The
Spanish Daughter, a Tragedy (1800) in which a female point
of view is introduced about the 'gendered' Revolutionary
aftermath. Andrew Cherry dedicated his life to acting and
writing musical sketches and songs of importance. His
Spanish Dollars (1806) included the famous song 'The Bay
of Biscay', about coastal life in Ireland.

For Henry
Brereton Code, his writing activities were accompanied by his
political presence in the Anglo-Irish unionist discourse. His
play Spanish Patriots a Thousand Years Ago (1812) is a
good example of this. The same applies to the critic and
politician John Wilson Croker and his praise of Wellington in
his famous poem The Battles of Talavera (1810) which
advocated, through the representation of Spain, the defence of
the Union between Ireland and Britain as a model for many
other European nations. Rev. George Croly produced his poem
Sebastian; A Spanish Tale (1820) deeply imbued with
religious controversy and Oriental difference.

Although
intermittent in his contributions on Spain, the translator and
poet Samuel Ferguson wrote the short poem 'Don Gomez and the
Cid' (1833) during the first year of the influential Dublin
University Magazine. Not much is known about Preston
Fitzgerald, who penned The Spaniard and Siorlamh (1810)
and his long poem Spain
Delivered. A Poem and Two Cantos
(1813), denouncing Napoleonic intervention in Spain. The
Anglo-Irish playwright Robert Jephson produced his Two
Strings to Your Bow (1791) through the portrayal of
stock-characterisation. The later James SheridanKnowles
was one of the most popular dramatists of the period and would
produce patriotic and heroic compositions in blank verse
principally. Of importance we find his early 'Fragment of a
Spanish Play' (about 1806), his short story The Guerrilla
(1837) and his play The Rose of Arragon (1842).

The other
female writer to be considered is Miss Alicia Le Fanu, who
produced her romantic novel Don Juan de las Sierras, or, el
Empecinado. A Romance (1823), establishing connections
with Spain, Ossian and Irish romantic nationalism. James
Clarence Mangan, regarded as the national poet of Ireland,
produced various translations from the Spanish and German, but
with Spanish themes, as well as a short introductory essay on
the interconnections between the Spanish romances and national
character, which Mangan then connected with the Irish
situation he was experiencing at the time.

The
Maturin family, represented by the Gothic Charles Robert
Maturin and his son Edward Maturin, deserves closer attention.
C. R. Maturin's play Manuel (1817) is set in Spain. His
Gothic masterpiece Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) has
recourse to Spain and Spanish religious conflicts constantly.
His son Edward, a member of the Irish Diaspora, although
publishing in the United States, followed the religious
preoccupation of his father in writing his short story Benjamin, the Jew of Grenada (1847).
His most interesting instance of Spanish influence is,
however, his poetical piece Lyrics of Spain and Erin
(1850), which closes our brief analysis, chronologically
speaking.

The final
group of Irish and Anglo-Irish authors on this alphabetical
list are playwrights. The most famous author is Richard
Brinsley Sheridan because he has also been included in the
English canon. His Pizarro (1799) portrays England's
colonial attitude towards India and Ireland through the
approach to the figure of the Spanish conquistador by the same
name. Minor in fame is Charles Stuart, about whom not much is
known; his The Irishman in Spain (1792) approaches the
Irish picaresque stock-character in Spain. Our last author on
this brief list is Reverend Matthew West, whose work on a
Spanish topic is a sequel to Sheridan's Pizarro, also
produced in 1799.

Aspects of a minor representation: main features

Many of
the authors above, some of them considered minor, express the
need to not only invent but also impose a new tradition to
some extent and, hence, an ideology of class or group. Their
writings portrayed and followed the interests of the newly
formed Anglo-Irish 'Protestant Nation', during a period
extending from 1782 to 1800. This temporary and brief flash of
'nationhood' in Irish history resulted from Henry Grattan's
achievement in securing the independence of the Irish
parliament in 1782. It was also related to a period of turmoil
and rebellion exemplified by the United Irishmen and the
events of 1798 lasting until the complete collapse of the very
same parliament that 'Grattan had emancipated.' The parliament
eventually 'voted for its own discontinuance' (Rafroidi 1980:
70) and union with Great Britain in 1800. The
'self-enforcement' of the Union between Britain and Ireland
brought about once again a general perception that only
through the Union of the Irish and British peoples could
progress be made. [4]